Tech Mediator On Napster Case

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel has appointed a high-tech mediator to decide on the technical issues surrounding Napster’s compliance with her court order to remove all copyrighted works from its file-swapping system.

A Napster spokeswoman confirmed the appointment of A.J. “Nick” Nichols, a veteran of Silicon Valley who has more than 20 years of experience in the development of hardware and software products.

His areas of expertise include computer design, engineering management, hardware and software development, mediation and telecommunications, according to the Professional and Technical Consultants Assn.’s Web site.